Never Do These 22 Things Before Bed for Better Sleep

Too many people are currently struggling with sleep issues, and it's difficult to function in society daily if you're sleepy and exhausted all the time. The best way to live your most fulfilling life during daytime hours is to aim for a solid sleep pattern each night.

Keep track of how lively and energetic you feel on days when you get more or less sleep.That way, you can gauge what your individual needs are. Getting quality sleep is one of the most important things people can do to take care of their health and well-being. But what are some of the worst things you can do before bed to ruin your sleep? How can you avoid these things?

To uncover the worst things you can possibly do before bed that will ruin your chance at a good night's rest, 24/7 Tempo consulted several health-centered sources. These include WebMD, Alaska Sleep Clinic, Women's Health Magazine, Live Strong, and Very Well Health.

This post was updated June 8th, 2025, to reflect additional information.

Some people are under the impression that drinking alcohol before bed is a great way to relax, unwind, and fall asleep. In reality, alcohol before bed can be extremely disruptive. It will potentially affect your REM sleep by causing disturbing dreams as the alcohol starts with wearing off.

The more vivid your dreams, the more likely you'll wake up in the middle of the night feeling panicked and uncomfortable. Alcohol is known to trigger your "fight or flight" mode as it starts wearing off, which makes it very difficult to feel calm and sleepy when it matters the most.

Most pieces of technology have been designed with blue light screens. Staring at blue light screens before bed is terrible because blue light suppresses the release of your body's natural melatonin. If your body has a chance to release natural melatonin, it's much easier for you to fall asleep on your own.

Blue light messes with your circadian rhythm and sends triggers to your brain that affect your heart rate and sense of alertness. The artificial light is undeniably detrimental on the quality of sleep you'll have. One way you can fight back against blue light is by wearing blue light blocking glasses while using pieces of technology closer to bedtime.

If you take a nap too close to bedtime, you're asking for serious trouble in the sleep department. An example of this would be taking a nap from 7:30 to 8:30 pm when you know your typical bedtime is 10 pm. There's nothing wrong with napping during daytime hours if you're feeling sleepy and exhausted.

You simply have to make sure you aren't napping within six hours of your typical bedtime, though. Something is minor as an hour-long nap can truly throw off your sleep pattern by tricking your mind into thinking you've already experienced a solid chunk of sleep within a 24-hour period.

It's usually always a good idea to drink tons of water. Most health professionals will do their best to convince you that you should be consuming as much water as possible each day. The only stipulation here is if you drink water too close to bedtime. The consequences that come along with drinking too much water before bed aren't fun.

The biggest consequence is waking up multiple times throughout the night to run to the bathroom for urination purposes. Bathroom trips when you're sleepy are beyond inconvenient. Interrupted sleep can rarely ever be dubbed quality sleep, which means drinking an excessive amount of water at night should be off your radar completely.

A bedtime mistake to avoid would be engaging in stressful conversations when you know you're about to fall asleep. The more stressful the conversation is, the more likely your body will be filled with surges of cortisol. Cortisol happens to be the stress hormone.

One way to avoid this is by jotting down all the stressful thoughts you might have before expressing them out loud to anyone. When your stressful thoughts are written down, your brain feels like it can trust you to fall asleep because it knows you'll address your stressors the following day.

Trying to get work done right before bed is another problematic thing to do. If you have the type of job that's encouraging you to work off the clock or take on obligations into the late hours of the night, it might be time for you to reevaluate your current situation.

The healthiest thing you can do for your sleep patterns is choosing a career path that offers a proper level of work-life balance. Some businesses, companies, and organizations don't believe in the notion of work-life balance. Those are the types of jobs you should do your best to avoid like the plague.

It's pretty obvious that drinking caffeine before bed is a huge mistake to make if you want to get a good night's rest. Caffeine is known for being a stimulant that will jolt to you awake and keep you feeling energetic. Most people rely on caffeine in the morning to wake themselves up so they can go on about their day and handle all of their obligations.

There's nothing wrong with drinking caffeine in moderation if you know it energizes you during the day every once in a while. There's a reason coffee shops like Starbucks and Coffee Bean are so popular. Drinking caffiene before bedtime, though, is where sleep troubles will most certainly arise.

It's crucial that you focus on keeping your bedsheets clean before bedtime. If you aren't frequently washing your bedsheets on a regular timeline, there's a chance your bed will become too uncomfortable to fall asleep in. Creating the most comfortable sleep environment is another essential step to having a good night's rest.

Bedsheets that aren't clean will occasionally feel spiky from the crumbs of fallen food. They might even heavy from the stains of sweat and oil. The smell of unwashed sheets might also keep you up. The difference in comfort that comes into play when falling asleep in a bed with fresh sheets is a game-changer.

Too many people are convinced that eating a heavy meal before bed is the best way to fall asleep through the night. In reality, experts have advised against eating heavy meals that are overloaded with carbs before bedtime. That's because your body goes into digestion mode after eating.

Your body shouldn't be working hard digesting food during your sleep hours. While your body is breaking down food molecules, the quality of your sleep will undoubtedly be affected. Another negative factor here is that people who frequently eat food too late at night are more susceptible to health issues like obesity.

Beyond the consumption of any large or carb-heavy meals, eating sugar before bed is another bad habit to abandon. Sugar has a reputation for causing restlessness and inflammation. Sugar gives your body a challenge when it comes to reaching REM sleep, which is the dreaming phase of rest.

Sugar consumption might cause you to wake up multiple times throughout the night, which will then leave you feeling groggy throughout the rest of your day. One of the best ways you can avoid this problem is by chowing down on healthy sweets like watermelon, honey, or dark chocolate before bed if your sweet tooth is tempting you in a significant way.

If the last thing you watch before falling asleep is a thrilling movie full of action-packed scenes, there's a chance you're going to have some difficulty getting to bed. Some of the most thrilling movie genres include action and horror. Action movies will offer car chases, fighting, sequences, and, massive explosion.

Horror movies are arguably a little more harmful on the mental. The frightening themes will potentially leave you feeling too spooked to comfortably fall asleep in a dark room. For example, if you watch a horror movie about a serial killer, you might grow paranoid about a serial killer breaking into your own home. At that point, falling asleep will undoubtedly be a challenge.

Listening to rambunctious music is another problematic thing to do before bed, similar to watching thrilling movies. Rambunctious music can hype up your energy in a way that isn't smart before bedtime. There's nothing wrong with listening to rambunctious music if your favorite bands fall into the rock 'n' roll or heavy metal genres.

It does become a problem, though, if you're listening to that type of music before bedtime since it will energize you in a way that isn't conducive to getting deep sleep. Some of the best music genres to tune into before bed include dream pop, classical music, soothing, instrumentals, and basic ambient noises.

Whether smoking has been a habit in your life for years, or it's something you've only recently gotten involved with, it's definitely not something you should do before bedtime. The nicotine inside cigarettes can impact your ability to fall asleep by producing more acetylcholine in your brain.

Acetylcholine is an awake-promoting neurotransmitter that keeps you feeling alert and focused. If cigarette smoking seems like a habit you won't be able to kick anytime soon, keep in mind that the last cigarette you should smoke should be a few hours before lying your head down to rest.

Any medication that's known to elevate your neurotransmitters should be avoided before bedtime. This can be extremely tricky to deal with since there are certain medications that are specifically intended before bedtime. If you notice that your sleep isn't solid after taking certain medication's that have been prescribed to you by a doctor, things might need to change.

Have a discussion with your doctor about better time slots during your day to take your medication. While you don't want to face sleeping troubles based on medication that elevates your neurotransmitters, you also wouldn't want to abandon your medication altogether if a medical professional has advised you to take it.

Think about your typical bedtime hour of choice. If you consistently choose to fall asleep at 10 pm every night, you shouldn't randomly experiment with a much earlier bedtime unexpected that you'll be able to comfortably fall asleep.

Attempting to move your bedtime up to 8 pm when your body is accustomed to falling asleep two hours later will leave you feeling restless and frustrated. Of course, this doesn't exactly apply if you know you're going to have to permanently move your bedtime to a different hour. If that's the case, your body will eventually adapt to the changes overtime.

If your phone starts ringing before bed and you know that it's a chatty loved one on the other side of the line, it's your prerogative to accept that phone call or let it go to voicemail. Accepting a call from a chatty loved one is an easy way to disrupt your sleep for the night.

If you have plans to go to sleep at 10 pm, and a phone call from your chatty loved one rings in at 9:48 pm, there's a chance they will talk your ear off and keep you up past your bedtime hour. Consider politely answering the call and letting them know you'll get back to them the next day.

The pillows and blankets you use on your bed make a huge impact on your quality of sleep at night. If you've selected a batch of itchy pillows and blankets, you'll spend the entire night trying to get comfortable instead of easily falling asleep.

Some of the best materials you can choose for your pillows and blankets include Egyptian cotton and silk. The more comfortable your bedding is, the more likely it will be for you to have uninterrupted sleep that actually feels good.

Leaving the temperature too high in your bedroom is another thing that could be ruining your chance at a good night's sleep. When the temperature is too high, there's a chance you'll wake up in the middle of the night covered in sweat. Anyone who's ever dealt with night sweats is already aware of how uncomfortable night sweats can be.

In the worst cases, night sweats will make you want to strip your bedsheets completely and hop into the shower for a cold rinse-off before attempting to go back to sleep. If you have to go through all those steps, you'll have an interrupted and lousy night of sleep on your hands.

People who try to fall asleep with temperatures that are too low will struggle just as much as folks who try to fall asleep in temperature that are too high. As much as you might think lower temperatures will help you feel warm and cozy underneath your blankets, that isn't always the case.

If you aren't able to get warm enough, your body will be stuck in a state of "fight or flight" mode trying to maintain your heat. Sleep experts have advised that temperatures between 60 and 68 degrees Fahrenheit are ideal for getting the deepest and most solid sleep at night.

Whatever you do, you shouldn't attempt to handle daytime tasks from your bed. Your bed is supposed to be a sacred place dedicated to getting good sleep. A few examples of handling daytime tasks in your bed include using your laptop to send work emails or taking time to write up your shopping list for the grocery store.

Reserve any daytime tasks you have to do for your living room, dining room, or kitchen. There are other spaces in your home that are not designated for sleep. When you do daytime tasks in bed, it confuses your mind by convincing you that your bed is also a place where you should be awake And handling obligations.

Going to bed hungry can be equally as detrimental as going to bed on a full stomach. If your stomach is growling throughout the night, you'll be too distracted by your hunger to fall asleep in a timely manner. In the worst cases, going to sleep will lead to a drop in blood sugar.

If your blood sugar drops too low, your body may react by jolting you awake in the middle of the night. Beyond that, if your blood sugar gets low, insulin will start doing its job to utilize the fat that's already stored in your body. This is a stimulating process that might keep you awake. A healthy meal of consisting of protein, veggies, and a starch should be consumed couple of hours before bed as a great way to avoid this problem.

Refusing the concept of a bedtime routine is a huge mistake for people struggling with sleep issues and insomnia. It might sound like too much work and effort to establish a solid bedtime routine, but if you genuinely care about getting good sleep at night, it should be worth it to you.

Some of the most important things to add to a bedtime routine include flossing and brushing your teeth, washing your face, and taking a shower or bath. After that, your bedtime routine might continue with getting dressed in your night clothes, combing out your hair, and journaling all of your thoughts.

Your bedtime routine should be individualized to your needs based on activities you can do to showcase self-care before falling asleep. Moving beyond any negative habits that ruin your sleep at night is a great step in the right direction.